Happy New Year!

Maria and I hope everyone had a great holiday season. We also wish that everyone has a Healthy and Happy New Leap Year.

CVR Overall Awards

The CVR Overall awards for Rookie of the Year, Enthusiasts of the Year and the Frank Carrington Award were presented at the 60th Celebration this past November:

Rookie of the Year: This award is given to a newer member who through their level of participation and volunteering is recognized as being exemplary. The 2019 Rookie of the Year was awarded to Eric Richmond. Eric became a CVR member in 2018 when he purchased his first Porsche. He volunteered to help out on the Challenge Transformation team whose purpose was to transition CVR from a physically printed newsletter to a digital form. He brought new ideas to the team based on his professional background. He did more than just help – he did the work of developing the digital Challenge. Certainly, without his contribution to the team, it would have taken a more significant amount of time to accomplish the transformation. This level of volunteering would in itself bring you into the running for the award. His volunteerism continued with stepping up to become the new Challenge Chair.

Enthusiast of the Year: This award is given to the member who has consistently fueled CVR by their volunteering with an enthusiasm that is contagious. The 2019 Enthusiast of the Year was awarded to James Ball. James became a member in 2010. We first met him that summer on the first Coffee Run he attended. He had a great time and asked us when the next run would be. We said not until the fall, to say he was disappointed would be an understatement. He put on his first Coffee Run in 2011. Then 2 in 2012, 4 in 2013, 5 in 2014 and 6 or 7 Coffee Runs a year since. He also mentored 2 new volunteers in 2019, Andrew Anello and Rich Adua in putting together their first Coffee Runs. James has volunteered at CVR’s Club Race, participated in Autocross and the Spring and Fall Tours. His level of enthusiasm today is the same as when we first met him in 2010.

Frank Carrington Award: Presented to outstanding CVR member who, over time, have served CVR tirelessly and unselfishly to lead, support and enhance the Porsche passion to its members, sponsors and other contributing partners in various events and activities. The 2019 recipients of the Frank Carrington Award are Susan and David Vaccaro. Susan and Dave have been members since 1996. Susan is Vice-Treasurer of Driver Education and Dave is Vice President of Driver Education. They have been part of the DE team since 2006 and leading the team since 2012. They have been a big part of making and keeping the CVR Driver Education program to be seen by PCA national as an example for other PCA regions to emulate. Being a part of the CVR board for the last ten years I certainly appreciated the amount of dedication and time needed to run the DE program. Having participated in the DE program in earnest this past year has brought me to an even higher level of appreciation. There are so many moving parts to make each event a success, safe and fun. Their focus is always on doing what is best for the DE program and the participants.

Looking Ahead to 2020

Thank You in advance to our activity chairs and volunteers who will be providing us with high-quality events and their service to CVR in 2020. Our activity chairs can always use your help. Volunteering is a great way to meet more people in CVR while having fun at the same time. Contact the activity chair of the area you are interested in helping for more information.

The CVR board has been working the event planning for 2020 and will hold the 2020 Planning Meeting on January 11th. Putting together the 2020 calendar is one of the main agenda items. We will be updating the CVR calendar on the website subsequent to the meeting.

The first CVR Monthly Meeting for 2020 will be held on Saturday morning, January 25th at The Trailer Depot in Northford, CT. Be sure to keep an eye out in January for the online registration.

I look forward to seeing you at many CVR events in the coming year, until then,

Safe Travels